Health: How to fight the flab this Diwali

Sophie Choudry VJactorFitness Mantra I train in pilates and the fitness studio is shut for all five days of Diwali so panic has already set in I will try and do some cardio and I swear by the Jawbone and maintain my 10000 steps a day I believe in being consistent with diet and workouts but Diwali comes just once a year More importantly itrsquos about spending time with your loved ones laughing and making memoriesActor Sophie Choudry front practises pilates with fitness trainer Yasmin KarachiwalaDiwali special I always eat at home before stepping out so that I know I have eaten healthy and hence wonrsquot be gorging on whatever food comes my way I donrsquot drink much anyway so I just stick to a normal vodka lime which is the lowest in calories And if I do end up playing cards till late I tend to get a bit hungry so I opt for lighter options like nuts to munch onSnack before a partyPast laurels Eating healthy is most important Avoiding junk oily and fried food along with following my exercise routine religiously has always workedCheat sheet I love mithai so during Diwali I help myself to a few pieces Besan mithai is a big favourite However since I am aware that I will indulge in a lot of sweets during the festival I ensure to keep the rest of my diet well balanced I stick to salads and grilled food and avoid bread and rotiRehan Poncha champion swimmerFitness mantra My workout regime always gets affected during the holidays because of family visits gettogethers or other commitments I give myself the flexibility to change the time but not the hours I spend on workouts Irsquom disciplined about my fitness and ensure that every week I get a minimum of three to four sessions of fitness along with five sessions of golf Itrsquos hard especially if yoursquore a foodie like me Therersquos such an abundance of unhealthy stuff that tastes amazing during these holidays If you remember all the effort yoursquove made all year to eat clean work hard and stay fit itrsquos easier to make better choicesDiwali special Treat yourself to what you crave but eat within reason Donrsquot deprive yourself If you make yourself miserable about it yoursquore more likely to crash and binge If you do end up eating some really rich food spend extra time at the gym especially on cardio to burn off extra calories Drink lots of water Often people end up eating excessively because they mistake thirst for hunger Eat a snack before you go to a party mdash a salad for instance this will cut your craving for unhealthy starters while you wait for dinner to be servedDonrsquot deprive yourself Eat but moderately Pic Courtesy Subi SamuelPast laurels Irsquove been a competitive swimmer and one of the upsides of the gruelling training hours is that you can eat as much as you like since you burn it all off in the pool the same day I managed to always stay fit Now that I play golf I have to watch my diet My desire to look good always helps me watch what I eat and keeps me motivated to gym hard tooCheat sheet I donrsquot avoid sweets I love chocolates and Indian sweets and since my family does too there is always something sweet at home even when therersquos no celebration When I do have that craving I force myself to ignore it for a minute If I can get through that first minute I donrsquot need to have that sweet anymoreRithvik Dhanjani TV actorFitness mantra I find it difficult to stay fit during the festive season due to a lot of eating and celebrating During Diwali I can afford to go a bit easy unless there is a project that comes up Since I know I am going to end up eating a lot I try and increase the duration of cardio it is a very old formula lsquoZyaada Khao aur Zyaada Bhagorsquo I have a big sweet tooth and eating sweets in moderation during the festive season does get difficult for me so I avoid all sweetsDiwali special Opt for sugarfree options in mithais easily available these days They dont taste as good as the original but then fitness always comes at a price Past laurels Sticking to my diet plan working out extensively and avoiding any kind of sweets no cheat meals and no eating out has worked There are no shortcutsCheat sheet To make it a bit easier on yourself you could mark a day when you binge on everything you like to eat and then go easy on your intake for the rest of the days That works and is definitely a healthier option to followJuhi Chawla actressFitness mantra I have a very simple fitness regime which I continue irrespective of festivals I try to walk and practise yoga regularly I eat in moderation I eat everything especially desserts but I never take a big piece of anything I take a bite of everything so I donrsquot miss outDiwali special I am not a big fan of mithai and donrsquot like receiving it during the festive season Hence I have started sending out dry fruits or dates to friends and family Whenever a sweet or mithai platter appears during a visit to somebodyrsquos home during Diwali invariably what also comes with it is a platter of dry fruits I always reach out for the kishmish badams and apricots If you are going to have rich food try and eat it during the day as you are always moving around and can burn the calories off Avoid heavy food at nightChoose dryfruits instead of mithaiPast laurels When tempting sweets are in front of me I immediately say ldquojust a littlerdquo I let that little voice in my head control me and that has worked wonders Cheat sheet Having said I donrsquot like mithais I want to confess that I cannot resist a rasgulla rasmalai or gulab jamun So if these are in front of me I succumb Then again I donrsquot eat too much of itYasmin Karachiwala fitness instructorFitness mantra On days that I donrsquot get to spend enough time in the gym I make sure I compensate by walking extra I wear my Jawbone to help me count the number of steps I have taken on a particular day Walking is quick and easy there is no warm up required and it can be done anywhere you are and cuts down on the time taken to reach the gym Consistency is of prime importance a slight change in your routine wonrsquot affect you as much as slacking off This way even if you donrsquot lose weight you will at least ensure that yoursquore not putting on a lotUse jaggery and dates instead of sugarDiwali Special This festive season I am supporting an initiative by NGO CRY called Get Healthy Give Healthy They are helping bring nutrition to children between the age group of 05 and reduce chances of malnutrition and looking into the nutrition of pregnant mothers in order to help them deliver healthy babies So this Diwali I have decided not only to stop myself from gifting sweets but also encourage everyone else who intends on giving me sweets to donate to this cause instead Itrsquos natural to indulge a little however itrsquos necessary to make healthier choices If there is a plate of sweets donrsquot dive in Choose what you want and eat smaller portions donrsquot treat it like a meal just satiate your taste buds If you canrsquot go in for a full workout at least opt for a quick jog It will compensate Once the festive season is over donrsquot procrastinate Get right back into your fitness routinePast laurels I preeat before I head to a party and mostly itrsquos a big bowl of salad This helps me monitor what I eat Starters are usually fried or low in nutrition value so it gets easier for me to skip them completely and still not end up starving by the time dinner is laid outCheat sheet I have educated myself on ways in which sugar harms the body Earlier my sweet tooth used to be bigger than my molar I could finish half a kilo of cake However after learning the disadvantages of sugar I decided to go in for a healthier choice Now Irsquove started using substitutes like jaggery and dates Desserts made using dry fruits also taste delicious